Friday, April 16, 2010

"Book Busters" is hosting a Bake Sale for Haiti! On Friday, May 7th, my gang of book busting club kids will be filling the store with lots of yummy treats like cupcakes, cookies & cakes to raise funds for The American Red Cross in support of their disaster relief work in Haiti! From 5:00pm-8:00pm come on over to our store and meet this fantastic group of local kids! Every dollar counts! Thank you fans for all of your support! Let's get baking!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Guess what?! The Baby-Sitters Club is BACK!! Originally published in 1986, I am thrilled to see this favorite childhood series back in print agian! The 4 girls who we all fell in love with nearly a generation ago have been re-introduced in a brand new Baby-Sitters Club adventure! So whether or not you're new to this best-selling mystery series or already a fan, you will LOVE this group of smart and charming girls! Stay tuned for further new printings of the original series!

The Baby-Sitters Club The Summer Before by Ann Martin

Before there was the Baby-Sitters Club, there were four girls named Kristy Thomas, Mary Anne Spier, Claudia Kishi, and Stacey McGill. As they start the summer before seventh grade (also before they start the BSC), each of them is on the cusp of a big change. Kristy is still hung up on hoping that her father will return to her family. Mary Anne has to prove to her father that she's no longer a little girl who needs hundreds of rules. Claudia is navigating her first major crush on a boy. And Stacey is leaving her entire New York City life behind...
...in order to find new friends in Stoneybrook, Connecticut.

The Baby-Sitters Club Kristy's Great Idea

It all began with a great idea ... and the inspiring original story of the Baby-sitters Club is back! Kristy Thomas's brilliant business plan gets off to a great start with the help of Claudia Kishi (vice-president), Mary Anne Spier (secretary), and Stacey McGill (treasurer).

The Baby-Sitters Club Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls by Ann Martin

Being a good baby-sitter isn't always easy, and the vice-president of the Baby-Sitters Club, Claudia Kishi, is learning that the hard way. She and the other club members have started getting strange calls on the job. Is it the Phantom Caller, a jewel thief who's been breaking into houses in the area? One thing is certain -- the Club has to take action to protect their kids!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

We have tickets! We have tickets! Book Inc. Palo Alto has a very limited number of FREE passes to see the upcoming movie, "THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO," in theaters March 19th! Passes admits two free admissions Monday-Thursday at Aquarius Theatre in Palo Alto during the film's entire run of engagement! This ticket however does not guarantee you a seat. Seating is on a first-come first-served basis! So come and get them while supplies last! Please ask a staff member at the front register!

This is a monumental collection of work from an often overlooked artist. It brings together all of Campbell’s Alec books (with the exception of The Fate of the Artist, currently published by First Second), plus some previously unpublished material. The whopping, 638 page tome contains almost 30 years of autobiographical comics. The first books, The King Canute Crowd and Graffiti Kitchen tell the story of a young Alec MacGarry, Eddie Campbell’s alter-ego.We follow his comical adventures while he works a dead-end job, drinks with rowdy friends, and gets involved in various romantic troubles. How to be an Artist shows how Alec becomes a successful cartoonist. This chapter is wonderful history of comic books, and features cameos by numerous creators including Alan Moore and Harvey Kurtzman. The later books, such as The Dance of Lifey Death and After the Snooter deal with Alec’s marriage, the birth of his children, and coping with middle-age. The art style is loose and expressive, but never sloppy or confusing. One of the most fascinating aspects of this book is watching Alec and his cast of recurring characters slowly age. You really get the feeling of knowing these characters. Campbell’s body of work is an exceptional and unique achievement. This book is a must for anyone who appreciates comics as an art form.

Friday, March 12, 2010

This is a very enjoyable look at American underground rock music in the 1980’s and early 1990’s. While the book tends to focus on hardcore punk and post-punk bands, there are still a wide range of styles represented: Black Flag, Sonic Youth, The Minutemen, Dinosaur Jr., The Replacements, Butthole Surfers, Mudhoney, and many more. The histories of thirteen bands are catalogued, and you get a great feel for the motivations that kept them on the road (and in some cases got them off the road). Despite their musical and philosophical differences, the groups all took full advantage of the freedom granted by recording with a small, independent record labels. Also included are plenty of rock-and-roll antics to make the book fun reading. Check out this book, then check out the music!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

When Guy Gavriel Kay releases a new book, it's cause for celebration. His new book (coming on April 27th, less than 2 months from now!) Under Heaven, is a jewel. Set in the fictional land of Kitai during the 9th Dynasty (which bears a marked resemblance to Tang Dynasty China), the book open with a man in a high mountain valley (the site of an ancient and not-so-ancient battleground), where he's been for the last 2 years, alone, burying the dead, with only ghosts for company...

This book will have you reading into the wee hours, mesmerized not only by the wondrous tale, but also by Kay's beautiful writing.

This book is so new it's not yet listed on our website, but you can call us at (650) 321-0600 to reserve your copy!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

One of my store's highest selling subjects in the Young Adult genre is Post-Apocalyptic Fiction (no big surprise with all of the Post-Apocalyptic blockbuster movies floating around out there!) Since I myself love delving into the what ifs & maybes of humanity's possible future, I'm very excited about these new & upcoming Young Adult releases!

THE LINE by Terri Hall

"An invisible, uncrossable physical barrier encloses the Unified States. The Line is the part of the border that lopped off part of the country, dooming the inhabitants to an unknown fate when the enemy used a banned weapon. It's said that bizarre creatures and super humans live on the other side, in Away. Nobody except tough old Ms. Moore would ever live next to the Line.

Nobody but Rachel and her mother, who went to live there after Rachel's dad died in the last war. It's a safe, quiet life. Until Rachel finds a mysterious recorded message that can only have come from Away. The voice is asking for help.

Who sent the message? Why is her mother so protective? And to what lengths is Rachel willing to go in order to do what she thinks is right?"

OUT IN STORES NOW!

THIS WORLD WE LIVE IN by Susan Beth Pfeffer

"It's been a year since a meteor collided with the moon, catastrophically altering the earth’s climate. For Miranda Evans life as she knew it no longer exists. Her friends and neighbors are dead, the landscape is frozen, and food is increasingly scarce. The struggle to survive intensifies when Miranda’s father and stepmother arrive with a baby and three strangers in tow. One of the newcomers is Alex Morales, and as Miranda’s complicated feelings for him turn to love, his plans for his future thwart their relationship. Then a devastating tornado hits the town of Howell, and Miranda makes a decision that will change their lives forever."

OUT IN STORES NOW!

THE OWL KEEPER by Christine Brodien-Jones

"Maxwell Unger has always loved the night. He used to do brave things like go tramping through the forest with his gran after dark. He loved the stories she told him about the world before the Destruction—about nature, and books, and the silver owls. His favorite story, though, was about the Owl Keeper.

According to Max’s gran, in times of darkness the Owl Keeper would appear to unite owls and sages against the powers of the dark. Gran is gone now, and so are her stories of how the world used to be. Max is no longer brave. The forest is dangerous, the books Gran had saved have been destroyed, and the silver owls are extinct. At least that’s what the High Echelon says. But Max knows better.

Maxwell Unger has a secret. And when a mysterious girl comes to town, he might just have to start being brave again.

The time of the Owl Keeper, Gran would say, is coming soon."

COMING SOON!

I can't WAIT to get my hands on these fascinating new titles! Can you?

Friday, March 5, 2010

Books Inc. has been written up in the San Fransisco Chronicle! With an outstanding interview with our company owners, Michael & Margie Scott Tucker, this is the reason why independent bookstores are here to stay! Thank you Michael & Margie!

On Friday February 5th, Book Inc. joined together with M Magazine & a local mother-daughter group, ChAngels to host a "Pajama Party" to collect Pajamas & books for needy children in our community! Not only did we make a FANTASTIC group of new friends but we also helped ChAngels collect over 100 PJ's, 80 books & a $500 donation courtesy of our store! Keep on going ChAngels! You are changing the world, one pajama at a time!

M Magazine, a literary magazine published specifically for moms, is on Facebook! Click here to see their profile!

"It seems that everything gets Earl's tail wagging--a bowl of food, a field of flowers, long walks, and belly rubs. But Mooch, Earl's best friend, knows what all of these things have in common: love is what makes Earl's tail wag. Patrick McDonnell, creator of the nationally syndicated comic strip, Mutts, pays an incredibly sweet tribute to his dog in a tale of wiggling and waggling, fwipping and fwapping...and every dog's secret to the joy of life."

"It’s only a week until Valentine’s Day, and Lily wants to make the perfect heart-shaped valentine for Mommy. But every time she cuts out a heart, it’s either too pointy, too round, or too skinny. As the days go by, Lily tries again and again, and when Valentine’s Day finally arrives, she has a heart for each day of the week! Which one will be the perfect valentine surprise for Mommy?"

"When a person falls in love, the universe—and everything in it—come vividly alive. It happened to San Francisco artist Page Hodel when she found the love of her life, Madalene Rodriguez. She expressed her devotion in an unusual way: Early every Monday morning, Page would create a heart for Madalene and leave it for her to discover somewhere near her front door. Here are photographs of one hundred of Page’s hearts for Madalene, fashioned from a magical, surprising diversity of materials: acorns and asparagus; berries, buttons, and bungee cord; cardboard, clothespins, corks, and candy corn. True love embraces the world, and Page’s art is testimony to its enduring faith."

I love anthologies because they are the bite-sized bits of literature that invariably leads me to an author I've not discovered. true, many of these authors are well known, but there are more to explore. The Checkov is excellent, yet the crwoning glory is Alice Munro's beautiful, tender tear-jerker of an ode to lasting love. Share it with someone special!

Friday, January 15, 2010

Calling all teens! Need a pick me up from those after holiday blues? Then check out these two upcoming YA author events in February!

On Monday, February 8th, come meet YA author, Erin Dionne as she regals us with her newest delightful teen novel, "The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet."

"In a novel every bit as funny as her debut, "Models Don't Eat Cookies," Dionne has created another eighth grader whose situation is utterly unique--but whose foibles and farces are sure to resound with every girl currently suffering through middle school."

Cookies included!

Not Your Mothers Book Club is pleased to present a SPECTACULAR YA author event with widely bestselling authors, Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl!

Last December, this dynamic team of two hit the ground running with their first smash hit, "Beautiful Creatures," and haven't stopped yet!

"Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever--and one secret could change everything."

Bring yourself & all your fantasy loving friends too! This is going to be a FANTASTIC evening of NYMBC magic!

For more event information, please go to www.notyourmothersbookclub.com

Sunday, January 3, 2010

2010 has just begun & we're celebrating it's beginning by reminiscing on some of our favorite staff picks of 2009! Just because it's the new year doesn't mean you still can't go back through some of these fantastic titles...

Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon

Await Your Reply is a literary masterwork with the momentum of a thriller, an unforgettable novel in which pasts are invented and reinvented and the future is both seductively uncharted and perilously unmoored.

My favorite novel of fall 2009, this is a masterful tale of identity, deception & betrayal as seen through the eyes of three seemingly unconnected pairs of people. I could not put this book down!

-Lori

A Gate At The Stairs by Lorrie Moore

In this dazzling new novel—Lorrie Moore's first in more than a decade—Moore turns her eye on the anxiety and disconnection of post-9/11 America, on the insidiousness of racism, the blind-sidedness of war, and the recklessness thrust on others in the name of love.

One of the best writers around! Don't miss this coming of age novel by this bestselling author!

-Linda R

Stitches by David Small

An ideal starting point for anyone curious about graphic novels & a superb treasure for those who already appreciate the genre!

Though Small has crafted a most compelling biographical tale, the true beauty and skill lies in his resounding artwork!

-Angela

The Financial Lives of Poets by Jess Walter

In the winning and utterly original novels Citizen Vince and The Zero, Jess Walter ("a ridiculously talented writer"—New York Times) painted an America all his own: a land of real, flawed, and deeply human characters coping with the anxieties of their times. Now, in his warmest, funniest, and best novel yet, Walter offers a story as real as our own lives: a tale of overstretched accounts, misbegotten schemes, and domestic dreams deferred.

This book is laugh-out-loud-when-your-alone-in-a-public-place funny! It's also a sweet, heartfelt story, terribly sad & not a little outraged! -Eric

The Good Soldiers by David Finkel

I can't say enough good things about this book! It's moving! It's enlightening! It's tragic! Finkel has captured this tale of the men & women who volunteers their lives for a war none of us believed in, in a way that I will remember for quite some time!

-Anthony

The Evolution Of God by Robert Wright

In this sweeping narrative that takes us from the Stone Age to the Information Age, Robert Wright unveils an astonishing discovery: there is a hidden pattern that the great monotheistic faiths have followed as they have evolved.

Though the idea of God seems, of late, so thoroughly refuted by minds like Hitchens & Dawkins amongst others, Wright here lays the foundation for a hopeful theory of religions cultural evolution.

This may be the funniest little book of baking mishaps you will ever read! Trust me! We laughed until we literally cried!

-Colleen & Eric

A Shadow Falls by Nick Brandt

From the opening images in A Shadow Falls, of a verdant world filled with multitudes of animals, to the closing images of small bands of creatures moving across a parched, dusty earth, Brandt portrays a mythic Africa struggling against tragic forces.

Nick Brandt is to me the Ansel Adams of African wildlife! A genius far outranking most others in his field! A brilliant feat of photographic artistry! -Colleen

Stay tuned for forthcoming reviews on new 2010 book titles! Happy Reading!-Colleen